Achievements of the Roh Tae-woo Government's 'Northern Diplomacy': Agreement on 'Loan First, Diplomatic Ties Later' with Hungary

Release of 240,000 Pages of Diplomatic Documents from 1988-1989
Includes Efforts for Japanese Emperor's Visit to Korea, Korea-ASEAN Cooperation, and ILO Membership Process

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made public over 240,000 pages across 1,577 volumes of diplomatic documents produced more than 30 years ago.

The diplomatic documents released on the 31st were produced between 1988 and 1989, and they fully capture the northern diplomacy that was active during the Roh Tae-woo administration following the 1988 Seoul Olympics, ASEAN diplomacy for joining the European Union (UN), and the progress of Emperor Akihito's planned visit to Korea.

The Roh Tae-woo administration's northern diplomacy, based on the '7·7 Declaration,' accelerated with the cooperation of the opposition parties symbolized by the "Three Kims"?Kim Dae-jung, Kim Young-sam, and Kim Jong-pil?and confidence from the successful hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It expanded to include China, the Soviet Union, and Eastern European countries. Inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation were also promoted within the broader framework of northern diplomacy.

The Korean government established diplomatic relations with Hungary on February 1, 1989, becoming the first among Eastern European communist countries to do so, and that same year, trade offices were set up in countries such as Yugoslavia, Poland, and Bulgaria.

Through these diplomatic documents, it was confirmed that the provision of loans by Korea was a major agenda item during the process of establishing diplomatic relations with Hungary, which is considered a key achievement of northern diplomacy. According to the minutes of the Korea-Hungary agreement dated August 12, 1988, after establishing permanent missions in both countries, negotiations were to begin to normalize bilateral relations through the establishment of diplomatic ties. Among these, the establishment of diplomatic relations was stipulated to proceed once 50% of the economic cooperation commitments were fulfilled. The minutes detailing economic cooperation included Korea providing $650 million to Hungary, with a bank loan of $250 million included among five support measures.

This means that Korea would establish diplomatic relations with Hungary after providing $650 million in economic cooperation funds, particularly supporting $125 million of the total bank loans. The $650 million economic cooperation support included $200 million in direct investment, deferred export payments, $25 million in re-loan funds, and $50 million in external economic cooperation funds.

The decision to execute the $125 million bank loan was made in December 1988. On December 14, a contract was signed between eight banks, including the Korea Exchange Bank and the Korea Development Bank, to provide a $125 million loan to the Hungarian Central Bank. About two months later, Korea and Hungary established diplomatic relations.

The newly released diplomatic documents also provide insight into the behind-the-scenes discussions between Korea and Japan regarding Emperor Akihito's visit to Korea. The Roh Tae-woo administration put forward the emperor's visit to Korea as a diplomatic agenda while preparing for a visit to Japan in 1989. At that time, Japan also responded positively to the emperor's visit to Korea.

According to the meeting between Foreign Minister Choi Ho-jung and Japanese Foreign Minister Uno Sosuke, the Japanese foreign minister stated, "Unless there are special circumstances, I would like to coordinate to realize the visit to Korea as the first overseas visit."

Later, during President Roh Tae-woo's visit to Japan in 1990, Emperor Akihito expressed a progressive stance regarding the past history between Korea and Japan, saying, "I cannot help but feel deep sorrow when thinking of the suffering experienced by your people during the unfortunate period caused by Japan." However, the emperor's visit to Korea did not materialize due to rapid changes in the domestic political situations of both countries.

Other contents of the released diplomatic documents include diplomatic cooperation to strengthen Korea-ASEAN relations, concerns over intensified labor movements following the Roh Tae-woo administration's accession to the International Labour Organization (ILO), and diplomatic efforts for United Nations (UN) membership. Additionally, they cover topics such as the Uruguay Round negotiations, consultations on the U.S. Trade Act Super 301 clause, and the repatriation of Sakhalin Koreans.

The list of released diplomatic documents and related booklets can be found on the Diplomatic Archives website. The original documents can be viewed at the 'Diplomatic Document Reading Room' within the Diplomatic Archives, but it is temporarily closed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Since 1994, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a total of over 28,000 volumes (approximately 3.91 million pages) of diplomatic documents in 27 rounds, and plans to continue actively disclosing diplomatic documents to enhance the public's right to know and improve transparency in diplomatic administration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.